Combined vent and check valve.



No. 878,883. PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907. n. F. MORGAN. COMBINED VENT AND CHECK VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1907.

FFIQE.

DOCTOR FRANKLIN MORGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED VENT AND CHECK VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907.

Application filed April 22, 1907. Serial No. 369528.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOCTOR FRANKLIN MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Vent and Check Valve, of which the following, when taken in connection with the drawing accompanying and forming a part hereof, is a full and complete specification, sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to which it pertains to understand, make, and use the same.

This invention relates to valves employed particularly in steam heating plants in which the radiators are provided with air discharge pipes, or with combined air and water of cond ensation return pipes, communicating with the air discharge ends of the respective radiators, and wherein the pressure in such air or combined air and water of condensation return pipe is at times below and at times above the pressure in the radiators.

The object of this invention is to obtain a device which may be used in combination with a thermostatic air valve or independently of a thermostatic air valve in steam heating plants of the kind referred to; and when interposed between the air discharge end of a radiator and the air or the combined air and water of condensation return pipe the following results will be obtained ;-a.. lVhen the pressure in the air or air and water of condensation return pipe is a determined amount lower than the pressure in the radiator, air in the radiators adjacent to the air discharge end thereof will flow through the device to such pipe, and when the thermostatic air valve is not present, (interposed between the radiator and the device embodying this invention), steam and water of condensation, to a limited amount, will also flow through. the device to such pipe: 6. No air or water of condensation can, at any time, flow through the device to such radiator: c. then the pressure in the radiator is less than the pressure in the air or combined air and water of condensation return pipe, as when the supply valve to the radiator is closed and water of condensation forms in such radiator or when the device is not attached to an air or air and water of condensation return pipe and the supply valve of the radiator is closed, no air can enter the radiator through the device; whether the steam used as a heating fluid is above or below atmospheric pressure when admitted to the radiators of the plant; and whether a thermostatic air valve be inter posed between the device and the air discharge end of such radiator, or not.

The special purpose of this invention is to obtain a construction of a combined vent and check valve for radiators, suitable for use as above referred to, in which the fluid adjacent to the valve and valve seat of the device, when the valve is seated and a lower pressure exists on the inlet side of the valve than on the outlet side thereof, may be water of condensation: and a construction wherein the valve seat will be washed in case dirt be deposited thereon by air passing therethrough, by water of condensation flowing backward to such valve seat and valve.

In the drawing referred to Figure 1 is a side elevation of the end loop of a radiator, of a section of an air or air and water return pipe and of a combined vent and check valve embodying this invention, such combined vent and check valve interposed between the discharge end of the radiator and the return pipe. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a combined vent and check valve embodying this invention. Fig. 3 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of a portion of the end loop of a radiator, of an air valve attached to the radiator loop and of a device embodying this invention attached to'the air discharge end of the air valve.

A reference letter applied to designate a given part is used throughout the several figures of the drawing to indicate such part wherever the same appears.

A, A, are radiator loops.

B, (Fig. 1), is a return pipe.

C is the stem of the device embodying this invention, C is a restricted passage way forming the inlet (through stem C) and C are screw threads on stem C.

D, d, is the shell or casing of device. Part D of the shell or casing is cylindrical and extends to near the bottom of the chamber in part at of such shell or casing, (see Fig. 2), and

is preferably provided with recesses or v notches d at the lower end thereof, as in Fig. 2. The part (I of the shell or casing .is attached to part D thereof with an air tight joint, as at E.

F is a valve seat at the discharge end of the passage way C.

G is a float in float chamber H, such float chamber being located in the cylindrical part D of the shell or casing.

I is a valve mounted on float G to, co-act with the valve seat F. The upper part of the float G is closed by the bottom 9 (see Fig. 2), and the cylindrical wall of the float extends below the bottom 9 to obtain chamber 9 and so that the float rests on the bottom of the float chamber.

9, g, are recesses or notches at the lower end of the cylindrical wall of float G.

J is a chamber in part d of the shell or casing of the device. Chambers H and J are in communication as through recesses d, d.

K is the outlet passage way from chamber J. The lower end 7c of passage way K is provided with screw threads by means of which the return pipe B may be attached thereto.

In Fig. 3, where the apparatus embodying this invention is illustrated as attached to the discharge end of an air valve, X is such air valve, Y is an ell forming the discharge end of the air valve X, (in which ell the neck 0 is secured in the same manner as such neck is secured in the radiator loop A in Fig. 1), and Z is the stem of the air valve X by which it is attached to the radiator loop A, in the ordinary way.

The operation of the device embodying this invention is as follows ;When the device is attached to a radiator loop as in Fig. 1, air, Water or steam flowing from the radiator through passage way 0 intochamber J passes through float chamber H on the out side of float G, to the bottom of such float chamber and out therefrom, through openings d, d, into such chamber J. Nearly all of the steam thus flowing through passage way C becomes water of condensation and drops into the lower end of chamber H and flows therefrom into chamber J to the height thereof indicated by the dotted'lines WW. Any additional water of condensation in chamber J flows therefrom through discharge passage K. Some of the water of condensation in chamber H will flow through recesses g into the chamber g. Additional air will flow from the radiator loop through passage way C and float chamber H into chamber J when such additional air is contained in the radiator loop, and the pressure in such chamber H is so much higher than the pressure in the chamber J as to lower the level of the wa ter in chamber H to below openings cl, d. The air flowing as described into chamber J will rise through the water of condensation 4 in such chamber J and flow therefrom through the discharge K.

The operation of the device embodying this invention when attached to the discharge end of a thermostatic air valve, as in Fig. 8, is the same as last above described, but in such case there will be less steam and water of condensation flowing from the radiator (through valve X and passage way 0), into chamber J and the combined devices may be attached to the air discharge end of a radiator in a plant wherein no return pipe B is used. When the pressure in the radiator loop is less than the pressure in chambcrH water of condensation from chambers g and J, will flow into chamber H to raise the float to seat the valve on the valve seat F, and should there be any dirt on the valve seat or any defect in the valve or valve seat to cause air to leak therethrough water will continue to rise in such chamber H filling the chamber until such valve and co-acting valve seat will be immersed in water of condensation. In this construction the chamber J is used as a reservoir from which, at all times, sufficient water of condensation may be obtained to completely fill chamber H.

To those skilled in the art it will be obvious that the seating of valve I on valve seat F, to prevent water of condensation flowing from chamber H into passage way 0, need not be so close as is required to prevent the flow of air from such chamber H into such passage way C while but slight difference in pressure is required to induce air to flow in the opposite direction, (that is, from passage way C to chamber J), such difference in pressure being measured by the depth of the water of condensation in chamber J, and I therefore trap the air flowing into chamber J from flowing back by a water tight valve seat.

When the device embodying this invention is interposed between a radiator and a return pipe in a vacuum steam heating system, in case steam is turned off the radiator there is at times steam in the return pipe tending to flow from such return pipe into the radiator,

and in such case steam in return pipe B may enterv chamber J and form water of condensation therein but will not flow from such chamber J through chamber H into the radiator.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 2 as water of condensation rises in chamber H and gradually submerges float G the valve I is seated with correspondingly increased force on seat F.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a combined vent and check valve, a float chamber provided with an inlet having a valve seat thereto, an additional chamber and a passage way communicating with such additional chamber, such chambers communicating with each other and arranged so that water of condensation contained therein flows from the chamber of greater pressure into the chamber of lesser ressure, in combination with a float in the cat chamber and a valve on the float arranged to co-act with the valve seat, the passage way communicating with the additional chamber arranged to retain suflicient water of condensation in the chamber to immerse the valve when the water in the float chamber raises the float to seat such valve; substantially as described.

2. In a combined vent and check valve, a float chamber provided with an inlet having a valve seat thereto, an additional chamber and passage way communicating with such additional chamber, such chambers communicating with each other and arranged so that water of condensation contained therein flows from the chamber of greater pressure into the chamber of lesser ressure, in combination with a float in the oat chamber and a valve on the float arranged to co-act with the valve seat, the passage way communicating with the additional chamber arranged to retain suflicient water of condensation in the chamber to immerse the valve when the water in the float chamber raises the float to seat such valve, such float containing a closed chamber and an open chamber, such open chamber communicating with the float chamber; substantially as described.

3. In a combined vent and check valve, the combination of a casing provided with a float chamber and an additional chamber communicating with the float chamber, an inlet to the float chamber, such inlet provided with a valve seat and an outlet to the additional chamber, such outlet arranged to retain water of condensation in the casing, a float in the float chamber and a valve associated with the float and arranged to co-act with the valve seat, such float containing a closed chamber and an open chamber and the open chamber communicating with the float chamber; substantially as described.

DOCTOR FRANKLIN MORGAN.

Witnesses:

CORA A. ADAMS, CHARLES TURNER BROWN. 

